KUH-KLACK, kuh-klack, kuh-klack. The Special Express Train zipped forward with tremendous speed. Mia was staring vacantly through the window at the ever-changing landscape racing past her.
After boarding the train, Mia and her ‘victim’ had finally made their introductions. The woman’s name turned out to be Kana Shirakawa; she was twenty-seven years old. Kana looked like she took good care of herself, but she didn’t wear any makeup. Her shoulder-length thick brown hair was gathered in a bunch, her clothes unremarkable—a plain combination of a tunic dress and leggings, plus flat sandals on her feet. The woman was fiddling with her phone, a disgruntled look darkening her features.
Mia, for her part, cast a furtive glance at her hands, in which two tickets to Nasu-Shiobara Station were clutched. She had wondered aloud why they had selected Nasu as their destination, but that had only earned her a glower from the woman. Somehow, she had this terrifying quality about her that made it impossible for Mia to disobey.
For a while, they rode in silence, rocked back and forth by the train’s movement, and then Kana opened her mouth, “We’ll take a shuttle bus once we arrive at the station.”
“Wha-?”
“It’ll take us to the ryokan I’ve already reserved for us. It’ll be about 16,000 yen for the both of us.”
“Wha-ha-ha—”
Mia was completely taken aback. Did kidnapping someone imply spending this much money?! She already regretted choosing this particular option as her “evil deed” from the bottom of her heart.
On that note, Mia’s cape and wand lay in her backpack now. She was forced to put them away with tears in her eyes after having Kana scold her about how, “a kidnapper can’t possibly wear such a flashy getup!” But she was the Supreme Ruler of Evil! She couldn’t help but feel depressed about this entire situation.
“Nasu was the last place I went on a trip with my husband.”
“I-Is that so? Uh, but your husband is still alive, right?”
“Of course he is. I meant that was the last place we went to together, just the two of us. Then came our daughter, and we had no time or energy for traveling anymore.”
Mia hummed noncommittally in response. She sensed that if she dared to point out the absurdity of all this, it would not be pretty, so she decided to play it safe.
Kana continued talking in a quiet, subdued tone, her gaze trained on the shifting landscape on the other side of the window, “We haven’t been on a single trip ever since our baby girl was born. If we go somewhere, it’s only ever to visit my husband’s parents. There, I have to attend to my mother-in-law’s whims, take care of our kid… Sucks all the joy out of the trip. And then my baby’s sitting in my lap all the way there too, and if she’s being fussy, I have to get up from my seat…” she complained under her breath, on and on.
Mia just listened in silence to her grumbling. Kana opened a can of beer she bought at some point in time at a station kiosk and began greedily gulping it down.
Refreshed, she deeply exhaled, and carped on, the alcohol loosening her lips further. “My hubby, he’s not that bad actually, you know! He’s trying to help me with childcare and household chores and stuff, in his own way… But, you see, I don’t really want him to! But he’s sooo eager to do it, as if he’s trying to make up for everything by doing that. Well, I’m telling you, he’s got it all wrong! So, so wrong. It’s like, when have I ever told him I want him to help me out with the kid and chores? …That’s not it at all. I don’t want him to just see me as the mother of his children, I only want him to look at me as his wife…” She heaved a long-suffering sigh and took one more swig of her beer.
Then, she called out to a passing attendant with a trolley selling snacks and beverages, “Excuse me, miss. I’ll have some dried scallops and a peanut and rice cracker mix. And some smoked squid. And two beers, please!”
“All of that?!” Mia whined through her tears, but promptly handed over her wallet, sniffling, after being glared at by Kana for her insolence.
“Um, and a bar of chocolate with almonds as well, please…” Mia felt that unless she at least allowed herself to indulge in some of the sweets she loved so dearly, her spirits would be dealt irreparable damage for the day.
Meanwhile, Kana continued her sob story. Her daughter was in her “no” stage and wouldn’t listen to her, her husband treated her like a mother and not at all like a woman, even though they had been so lovey-dovey with each other when they were dating—and other tales about her family woes and day-to-day life. When they went to visit her husband’s family, she’d have to tend to her mother-in-law, which was a huge bother, and when she mustered up the enthusiasm to help the woman around the house, that didn’t go very well.
Kana expected to finally be able to laze around at least at her own parents’ house, but her mother would pester her to lend a hand with the chores, and when she’d vent about her family life, Kana’s mother would shut her down with, “It’s a miracle you found someone who was willing to take you as a wife, so don’t let me hear your privileged whining again,” which made her even angrier. It was one big pity party, and alcohol was probably helping in keeping it going.